"and the land will not vomit you out"
(Inspired by Avi Sagi's article: Conversion, Exile, and Sovereignty - Reflections Following the Biblical Tradition)
In his commentary on the first verse of the Bible, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth," Rashi asks why the Torah began with this verse and not with the first commandment given to the Israelites: "This month shall be unto you" (Exodus 12:2).
And his answer: If the gentiles say to Israel, "You are robbers who conquered the lands of seven nations" (meaning the land of Canaan), answer them: The whole land belongs to the Holy One, blessed be He. He created it and gave it to whomever it pleased Him. By His will, He gave it to them, and by His will, He took it from them and gave it to us.
Is this process reversible (God forbid)? Meaning, taking Judea and Samaria from Israel and handing it over to others? If so, what could be the factors and conditions for that?
The Bible answers this in several places, including in our weekly Torah portion.
The reasons why God took the land of Canaan from the seven nations are mainly: the idolatry they suffered from, at its head the sacrificing of children (human sacrifice) to Moloch, incest, and their social-moral conduct.
And therefore the central command and warning is: "You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt where you lived, nor shall you do as they do in the land of Canaan, to which I am bringing you, nor shall you follow their customs." (Leviticus 18:3) but rather: "You shall keep my statutes and my ordinances, by doing which a person shall live: I am the Lord." (Leviticus 18:5)
What is the required and appropriate conduct?
The detailed explanation of its central principles is found in Chapter 19 of the Book of Leviticus, a chapter that has become canonical in Jewish culture. At its head is the guiding principle: "You shall be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy," followed by a breakdown of behaviors that are appropriate for realizing this principle, primarily concerning interpersonal relationships, moral sensitivity and compassion, and great concern for the vulnerable in society (the blind, the deaf, the orphan, the widow, and the stranger).
A special dimension is known regarding the treatment of a ger—a ger in the Bible: an ethnic group not from Israel that lives among Israel. 36 times, the Sages counted references to the treatment of a ger in the Torah. Only to him is the demand "and you shall love him as yourself" (parallel to the commandment "and you shall love your neighbor as yourself") attributed: "And if a ger stays with you in your land, you shall not afflict him. He shall be to you as a native-born among you, the ger who stays with you, and you shall love him as yourself."
And the reason for this is: "For you were strangers in the land of Egypt, I am the Lord your God' (Leviticus 19:33-34).
The remembrance of the Exodus from Egypt and the obligation to remember the slavery and subjugation in Egypt is the foundation and source of inspiration for a series of commandments toward the stranger, orphan, and widow—the socially weak margins of society.
Why has the attitude toward the stranger become a central touchstone for proper moral conduct?
The biblical tradition directs the people of Israel to their land. The Land of Israel is the home of the people, but even within their home, they are called upon to constantly experience the feeling of being strangers in their own land. And all of this is for what reason? Out of concern for developing a master-servant attitude.
The historical memory of slavery and migrations in Egypt is the foundation for developing an awareness of the need for constant confrontation with the danger of power and dominion that lies in wait for anyone living in a land that they rule without restraint.
The people of Israel are not an indigenous people, masters of the land and its absolute owners, nor will they be made so.
The land is God's gift to Abraham and his descendants under certain conditions. Man is not sovereign, and therefore should not develop a consciousness of mastery, "and you shall not say, "My own strength and the might of my hand have produced all this wealth for me."
Therefore, God takes the trouble to warn the people of Israel and to inform them, that just as He brought them to the land, so He can also destroy them. The way to contend with the temptations of sovereignty is by developing a disposition of awareness of being strangers and of conditional existence in this place.
And we will conclude with the words of Samson Raphael Hirsch, adapted from the verses in Leviticus 18:24-28 in our portion:
"Since the selection of Abraham and his land, the Land of Israel does not tolerate the corruption of its inhabitants. The flourishing of this land depends on the moral flourishing of its inhabitants—those born within it, nourished by its fruits, and enriched by its treasures. In the completeness of man and his moral freedom will be found completeness for the land as well. The land forfeits its purpose if the society upon which it depends has corrupted its ways and forfeited its own purpose. Therefore, a society that is socially and morally corrupt has no future in this land... Just as the body expels foreign matter within it, so too will the land expel its inhabitants.
It is difficult to write these things without thinking about the chasm that yawns between the position of the Bible and the deeds performed night after night, and even in broad daylight, by the "hilltop terrorists" in Judea and Samaria. Those who claim to act in the name of Judaism and to fulfill the commandments of the Bible are distorting the legacy of us all.
These lines are written with considerable pain and great concern, just a few days after we celebrated 78 years of our renewed sovereignty and independence in our homeland.
Shabbat Shalom!